Alice in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking-Glass (1871): Lewis Carroll's nonsense stories are full of symbolism and intellectual humour. Films often combine elements of both books. The starry 1933 version with Cary Grant and W.C. Fields is a curio and the 1951 Disney version is fun but unsubtle.

Treasure Island :Robert Louis Stevenson's story was originally serialised in a children's magazine, Young Folks, in 1881-82 and published as a book in 1883. This was a book intended for young readers that also had adult appeal. It's been filmed many times and its influence on pirate lore has been enormous. Robert Newton's charmingly villainous "Yaaar, matey!" portrayal of Long John Silver in the 1950 Disney version is the definitive screen pirate.

Gulliver's Travels: Jonathan Swift's book has often been consigned to the kidlit ghetto in bowdlerised and shortened editions but the original work is a scathing satire. Film adaptations tend to focus on Lilliput (the land of the little people) and occasionally include Brobdingnag (the land of the giants). Notable films include the Fleischer animated film of 1939 and The 3 Worlds of Gulliver (1960) with special effects by Ray Harryhausen.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884): These Mark Twain books are sometimes regarded as being for children although the latter, especially, has been both well respected and controversial. Huckleberry Finn is darker and has proved trickier to adapt, though that hasn't stopped people trying. Tom Sawyer was effectively filmed in 1938 and there were musical versions of both produced in the 1970s.

Little Women: Louisa May Alcott's novel, originally published in two volumes in 1868 and 1869, is another perennial. The story of three sisters and their mother facing life without Father, who is serving in the US Civil War, has been quite lucky on film, with notable versions including those made in 1993, 1994 and 2019.